How to Apply Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint is one of the most popular paints today. It has many advantages -- but also disadvantages. Learning about how to use acrylic paint has become a journey to new discoveries!
At first I had planned to use oil paint or even water-based oil paint, but I developed a chemically-triggered asthma condition. That's why I had to switch to another type of paint. I tried watercolors and really liked them, but my favorite way of painting is to use thick paint with textured underpaintings on canvas. It's been a lot of fun discovering how to apply acrylic paint.
In this blog I'd like to share my journey of discovering what acrylic paint can do.
To begin with, I'd like to post several acrylic paintings. A number of them are available as prints. You can click on the tab above to see Impressionist Landscape Prints. There you'll find out more about the individual paintings that are offered as prints right now. Other pieces of artwork are available as framed originals paintings on my website.
Turquoise Waters
This is one of my favorite paintings. I enjoyed dashing on the
brushstrokes as I tried to convey the brilliance of the shimmering river.
I like to show my brushwork in my paintings.
Two of my favorite brands of acrylic paint are Nova Color and Golden Open.
I used to mix my colors in small plastics containers with lids and paint from these premixed colors.
I stopped doing that and am trying to let my paint have a marbleized look by not over mixing.
Autumn Reverie
I painted this painting and a number of others in this collection from my imagination.
Like Vincent Van Gogh, I use colors for their emotional impact instead of directly copying nature's colors.
Autumn Path
I love to paint paths in my landscapes. To me they are symbolic of life's journey -- like John Bunyon's "Pilgrim's Progress."
Autumn Reflections
I really enjoy painting shimmering water and giving it a feeling of movement through broken colors and energetic brushwork.
This painting was painted with Nova Color acrylics.
Forest Patterns
I am intrigued by abstract patterns that I discover through the inspiration of the natural world around me.
I like to push my colors to a greater vibrancy for emotional impact.
Golden Afternoon
A peaceful stream is surrounded by trees dressed in autumn splendor.
You have to work quickly with acrylics since they dry quickly. However, with Golden Open Acrylics the drying time is longer and it is easier to blend with them. This painting was painted with Novacolor acrylics.
Hillside Watcher
I enjoyed putting a textured underpainting under this
painting and then dragging my brush over the rich texture.
Alone
I named this painting "Alone" because of the feeling of the vastness of the desert in Imperial Desert.
Path to The Lake
I took a failure of a painting and painted this over it gradually. It would have been a lot easier starting out with a fresh canvas!
Place of Peace
Here's another painting that was completely different and I kept altering it until I was pleased with it. It would have been easier starting out fresh.
Quiet Pond
It was fun painting this painting since I took liberties in an abstract way by accenting the shadow areas with bold black shapes.
Acrylic paint is a good choice for paintings that lean toward the abstract.
San Gabriel River Afternoon
I started out this piece by strongly using reference material. When I was almost finished, I decided I didn't like it and made a drastic change to the bottom of the painting by widening the river and making it veer to the left. This gave the piece a more dramatic feel to it.
Stone Steps
These rock steps are located in the Big Dalton Canyon area near Glendora, California. Bears and mountain lions inhabit the area.
One time while I was photographing reference material there, while I was nearby a mother bear with her cubs overturned trash cans.
Sunlight and Shadow
This painting was inspired by the beauty of Rancho Santa Gardens in Claremont, Southern California.
Sunlit Path
A path leads to the distant hills in the far distance surrounded by windswept trees.
Yucca Path
My husband, Bob, and I frequently take day trips to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. There are a lot of yuccas in the area. I did a black and white sketch of a nearby path and completed the painting in my studio.
Autumn Celebration
This painting has seen several revisions. It started out having a dark sky and I lightened it and tried to bathe the landscape with light.
Live Oak Patterns
Just above Glendora, California, is a wilderness area known as Big Dalton Canyon. There are numerous live oaks there. The patterns from their interlocking branches caught my attention.
Path in The Country
I enjoyed painting the large red maple tree on the left. A country road leads to an unknown destination. What is over the next hill?
